Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-09-25

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some people regard work as the most important thing in life and have little interest in anything else. Other people are more enthusiastic about their hobbies and leisure interests than their jobs.

Discuss both these attitudes and give your own opinion.

You should use your own ideas, knowledge and experience and support your arguments with examples and relevant evidence.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

There is a motto by Pakistan's founder, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah: "Work, work, and work."

Most people are passionate about their careers and work really hard to achieve their goals, but they also pursue their hobbies in their spare time. While some are more passionate about their hobbies, and stayed relaxation in their jobs.

On the one hand, people who are more focused and enthusiastic about work are often much more stable in their careers. Being dedicated to their jobs and managing their remaining time around smaller hobbies makes them highly disciplined. For example, working all day and proving your knowledge through hard work can lead to impressing the boss and earning an instant promotion.

On the other hand, some people are more intent on achieving fulfillment from their hobbies rather than proving themselves repeatedly in a corporate sector that often hold a culture of leg-pulling. Instead of relying solely on a salary, they focus on other skills that help them achieve their goals more efficiently and quickly. For instance, staying stuck to your seat and working tirelessly in a toxic environment may cause you to lose your hobbies and skills altogether.

From my point of view, I completely disagree with the traditional corporate mindset. I believe we should not let jobs take our skills and hobbies away from us. A routine salary can act as a form of slow poisoning; we spend years working 9-to-5, losing quality time with family and friends. Ultimately, smart work combined with a healthy amount of hard work is far more sufficient.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by discussing both attitudes towards work and hobbies, and it clearly presents a personal opinion. The introduction introduces a quote, and the body paragraphs contrast career-focused individuals with those who value hobbies, such as in the sentence 'people who are more focused and enthusiastic about work are often much more stable in their careers.' However, the ideas are somewhat limited and under-developed, particularly in the brief conclusion and the second paragraph where the phrasing 'and stayed relaxation in their jobs' is slightly unclear. The student adopts a clear position throughout, but the depth of argument aligns more closely with the requirements of a Band 6.0 performance, where some parts are addressed more fully than others and supporting points need more elaboration.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay has a coherent overall arrangement with a recognizable introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate the different viewpoints and the writer's opinion. Cohesive devices such as 'On the one hand' and 'On the other hand' are employed to guide the reader through the discussion. However, cohesion is at times faulty or mechanical. For instance, the transition in the second paragraph is abrupt, and referencing is occasionally unclear, such as the pronoun use in 'stayed relaxation in their jobs'. These issues mean the logical progression is not entirely smooth throughout, making a Band 6.0 the most appropriate descriptor for this criterion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'disciplined', 'promotion', 'fulfillment', and 'corporate sector'. There are also attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'slow poisoning' and 'leg-pulling', which demonstrate some stylistic awareness. However, there are noticeable inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, most notably in the phrase 'stayed relaxation in their jobs' and 'holding a culture of leg-pulling'. These lexical errors do not impede communication, as the writer's general meaning remains clear, but they restrict the lexical score to a solid Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing structures like conditional and relative clauses effectively in places, as seen in 'Instead of relying solely on a salary, they focus on other skills that help them achieve their goals.' However, there are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings throughout the text, such as 'and stayed relaxation in their jobs', 'proving your knowledge', and 'staying stuck to your seat'. While these errors occasionally cause the reader to pause, they rarely impede overall communication. The punctuation is generally adequate, and the control over simpler structures is good, justifying a Band 6.0 score.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.